1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure pertains generally to golf clubs and, more particularly, to a golf club head that includes a uniquely configured arrangement of trusses and a peripheral flange which are arranged relative to each other to improve finishing operations, such finishing operations being used, for example, to smooth or polish all trusses and the peripheral flange to a similar degree.
2. Description of the Related Art
Golf club design is primarily driven by a desire to achieve enhanced physical performance of the golf club. For instance, a golf club may be particularly configured to achieve greater distance, more forgiveness, or a particular vibrational resonance upon golf ball impact to create a more desirable “feel” and sound.
In addition to enhanced physical performance of the golf club, the look or aesthetics of the club also factor into the overall design. Golfers are more likely to perform better when they feel confident about their equipment, and thus, designers strive to create a golf club which is not only capable of achieving enhanced physical performance, but also creates an attractive appearance which provides confidence to the golfer.
One structural feature that has been incorporated into many golf club heads (notably wedges and irons) for improving their physical performance are trusses, which may have a vibration-dampening effect on the club head upon impact with a golf ball. FIGS. 1, 1A, and 1B show a prior art golf club head 10. The club head 10 generally includes a striking face 12, a rear face 14 disposed in opposed relation to the striking face 12, a shaft accommodating hosel 15 which protrudes from a heel end 11 of the striking face 12, and a peripheral flange 16 which at least partially circumvents the rear face 14 and defines an outer surface 36. The opposed ends of the peripheral flange 16 transition to a lower body 18 of the club head 12. The lower body 18 defines a sole portion 20 and an inclined rear surface 22. The inclined rear surface 22 from the sole portion 20 at least partially defines one or more cavities 24. As shown in FIG. 1, the cavity 24 accommodates an insert 25, which may include branding or other indicia, as is common in club head design.
The club head 10 additionally includes a truss 26 formed on and extending along prescribed portions of the rear face 14 of the club head 10. The truss 26 is specifically configured to achieve the desired physical performance enhancing characteristics, e.g., vibration dampening, without compromising other specifically tuned structural characteristics of the club head 10, such as mass distribution, center of gravity, etc. The truss 26 generally includes a base segment 28 and one or more arm segments 30, 32 extending from a common side of the base segment 28 in spaced relation to each other. The cavity 24 is located between the base segment 28 and the lower body 18, and is partially defined by each.
The truss 26 is of a truss height TH relative to the rear face 14, and a truss width TW as generally defined by the distance between the opposed longitudinal edges of each of the base and arm segments 28, 30, 32 of the truss 26 at the top or outer surface 34 thereof. Furthermore, the peripheral flange 16 is of a flange height FH relative to the rear face 14. In one particular prior art club head 10, the truss height TH is about 0.92 mm, the truss width TW is about 2 mm, and the flange height FH is about 1.2 mm. In this respect, since the truss height TH is less than the flange height FH, the truss 26 is recessed relative to the peripheral flange 16.
One of the final steps in forming the club head 10 is to create a desirable surface texture scheme which enhances the overall appearance of the club head 10. The surface texture scheme may include several different surface textures on discrete regions of the club head 10, which produces different reflective surfaces on the club head 10. The surface texturing may be achieved by blasting and polishing different regions of the club head 10. The polishing may entail the use of a polishing wheel which contacts prescribed surfaces of the club head 10 to create a particular surface finish associated with the desired surface texture.
One particular limitation associated with polishing the club head 10 is that the polishing wheel can only effectively polish the outermost surfaces of the club head 10. In other words, surfaces which are recessed or reside below an adjacent surface typically cannot be easily reached with a polishing wheel, and thus, those surfaces are typically blasted, which produces a surface that has a higher surface roughness value than a polished surface.
As noted above, in conventional club heads, such as the club head 10, the outer surface 34 of the truss 26 resides below adjacent surfaces on the club head 10. As illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the outer surface 34 of the truss 26 is offset from, and resides below, the adjacent outer surface 36 of the peripheral flange 16 by an offset amount “O,” wherein the offset amount O is equal to the difference between the flange height FH and the truss height TH. Thus, if the flange height FH is equal to 1.2 mm and the truss height TH is equal to 0.92 mm, the offset amount O is equal to 0.28 mm, which is large enough to prevent a polishing wheel from reaching the truss 26, and in particular the outer surface 34 thereof.
Furthermore, the inclined rear surface 22 oftentimes extends over a portion of the truss 26 (i.e., the base segment 28), such portion being labeled with the reference number 35 in FIGS. 1A and 1B. In this respect, the club head 10 includes two “steps” between the inclined surface 22 and the rear face 14, wherein the “first step” is between the inclined surface 22 and the truss 26, and the “second step” is between the truss 26 and the rear face 14. The recessed nature of the truss outer surface 34 effectively prevents the polishing wheel from easily contacting or engaging the same. As such, the truss 26 is oftentimes textured with the rear face 14 of the club head 10, typically via blasting, which results in a dull appearance, the truss 26 thus merely blending in with the rear face 14 of the club head 10.
In view of the aforementioned deficiencies in the art, there is a need for a club head having a truss that is specifically configured and adapted to enable polishing of the truss so as to create a contrast with an underlying rear face to produce a more visually striking appearance of the truss.